Insulin-like growth factor I concentration in dogs with inflammatory and neoplastic liver diseases

Liver diseases are known to influence the serum concentration of insulin-like growth factor I (IGF-I) in humans, but such an effect has rarely been investigated in dogs. The aim of this study was to investigate serum IGF-I concentrations in dogs with primary liver diseases, in comparison with levels in healthy dogs and dogs with non-hepatic diseases. For this purpose, IGF-I serum concentrations were measured (DSL-5600 kit) in 36 dogs with various liver diseases and compared with 22 healthy controls and 20 dogs with non-hepatic diseases. The results showed that dogs with liver diseases had significantly lower IGF-I serum concentrations (P < 0.001) than clinical healthy dogs or dogs with non-hepatic diseases. But the results also indicate that the aetiology of liver disease has no influence on IGF-I serum concentration.